Roundtable discussion: Whither Government and Digital?

Digital technology presents both opportunities and responsibilities to government. For example the release of non-sensitive public sector data to the public presents opportunities to catalyse inventive solutions to common challenges like traffic congestion or poor health amongst low-income families. Equally, the explosion of the data economy imposes responsibilities upon government to ensure that legislation strikes a balance between citizens’ natural desire for privacy with the potential for digital technology to offer better services and products.

Digital services also enable much greater transparency of government activities, imposing political accountability and bureaucratic responsibility – and new arguments over where the line should be drawn.

Join the Global Digital Foundation in Canberra, Australia for our launch and roundtable discussion Whither Government and Digital? where we will examine the role of government in both implementing, fostering and regulating digital innovation.

The Roundtable

The discussion will be moderated by Ann Steward, PSM, former Australian Government CIO, with Kevin Noonan (Ovum) acting as rapporteur. Participants include Edwin Lau, Head of Public Sector Reform at the OECD, Jane Treadwell, Practice Manager for ICT—Digital Platforms and Solutions, World Bank, Andrea Di Maio Managing Vice President, Gartner, Martha Dorris, former senior executive in the US GSA, Paul Waller, former senior executive in the UK Cabinet Office, Pia Waugh, the well-known open government / open data advocate, R Chandrashekhar, President of NASSCOM, India and former Chairman of the Indian Telecom Commission, and Secretary, Department of Telecommunication, Ivo Ivanovski Head of Regulatory Affairs, Telekom Austria and former Minister of Information Society and Administration, Republic of Macedonia, and Colin MacDonald, NZ Government CIO. We have also invited Toshi Zamma, Ministry of Finance, Japan, Professor Makoto Yokozawa, Kyoto University, and Cheow Hoe Chan, GCIO and Deputy CEO, GTech, Singapore among others, some of whom will be joining by video link.